Curriculum for Interdependence and Ecological Sustainability
As we enter the new millennium, one of the most challenging questions, if not the most challenging question to address, is how to assess, build, and maintain a sustainable economy and culture that will allow human society to enjoy a sufficiently high standard of living without destroying its natural and biological support. The fundamental question is: What is sustainability and how sustainable is an economic system? Sustainability is difficult to define or measure because it is an inherently vague and complex concept (Phillis, 2001).
Ecological sustainability, and the ecological intelligence required to enact it, is important in maintaining a long-term balance with the world. Ecological sustainability and ecological intelligence can be defined as "an all encompassing sensibility to see the interconnections between our actions and their hidden impacts on the planet, human health, and social systems (Goleman, 2010, pg.91)." It provides the sustainability movement and the aptitude to understand the connections and consequences between environmental, economic, and societal actions. Ecological sustainability means that
Cover of Diamond's novel, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
any activity that is taking place must be able to continue virtually forever. This can only happen if the activity does not 'use up' or otherwise destroy any of the life forms or resources which exist where the activity takes place, or--more particularly--upon which the activity relies. For example, the lumber industry is sustainable when trees are selectively cut down, thus allowing the habitats of thousands of species to remain intact, and for the forest to continue growing. Clear-cutting is not sustainable as it destroys the habitat for all the species in the forest and removes all the trees (Orr, 1991). While there are many individuals who have ecological intelligence and are reducing their ecological footprints with each soda can recycled or mile not driven, there are just as many Americans who are not ecologically minded. A lack of concern for the environment has often been the cause of collapse in past societies such as Easter Island, Pitairn and Henderson Islands, and the Anasazi in New Mexico. In his book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Jared Diamond (2005) points out multiple examples of societies that are no longer in existence due to the abuse and destruction of natural resources. Although some societies have collapsed due to a lack of concern, there were also "people living in fragile and difficult environments, adopting solutions that were brilliantly successful and understandable 'in the short run,' but that failed or else created fatal problems in the long run," (Diamond, p. 155). Our developing ecological intelligence must surpass the short-sighted goals of failed past societies, and move toward long term goals that will sustain the planet long after we are gone.
Watch Daniel Goleman discuss ecological intelligence and sustainability. According to Goleman, "green" living is a mirage. Although products touted for being environmentally friendly may be improved over standard products, there are still many hidden costs and impacts of each and every product. From the extraction of natural resources, to the manufacture, transport, use, and disposal of products, each step of production has an environmental and waste impact. In order to reduce the impact each individual has on the land, life cycle assessment can be used. Goleman presents life cycle assessment as an improved version of the carbon footprint. Life cycle assessment moves beyond the final environmental impact of consumer goods, and instead focuses on the impact of each and every step of production of goods. Items are rated based on their overall environmental impact, and these ratings are available to the public online. If individuals begin to change their buying habits to align with better environmentally rated items, as well as share information about the better products they are purchasing, a large scale shift can begin to take place.
America is a highly individualistic country, and while there have been vast improvements in terms of responsible use and protection of natural resources, we require a shift in the way we think and act to reach an ecologically sustainable path. As Slattery states, "the stakes are so high and the evidence of impending disaster so clear that alliances are being formed across political and religious divides" (2006, p. 200). Even today, in the face of overwhelming evidence of the impact of humanity on our environment, regulation and protection for sustainability is seen by some as an enemy of "progress".
Due to the fact that "the institutions that give special legitimacy to these patterns of thinking are the public schools and universities," we, as educators, find ourselves in positions to shape not only the immediate future of our students, but the future of students for years to come (Bowers, 2011, p. 13). As educators we are provided an opportunity, through our curriculum, to provide a path that can direct students towards ecological intelligence. Educators can provide their students the aptitudes to help understand "the dangers of environmental pollution, global climate change, unrestrained population growth, destruction of rainforests and wetlands, and the depletion of the protective ozone layer" (Slattery, 2007, p. 199). Providing our students an introduction "into holistic practices" we can "contribute to the postmodern global consciousness essential for ecological sustainability" (Slattery, p.199). As a reminder from the song "Mirror" by Michael Jackson, we, as educators, members of our society, and intergenerational knowledgeable others, must first begin with ourselves by modeling an ecological intelligence in more than just our classrooms. Slattery's commentary about ecology points out that teachers may be the answer to earth's ecological problems since they are the ones that encounter this country's future daily. This process starts as a hierarchical action, as power transfers to the common people.
Because educators work collaboratively with diverse groups within our society, they must develop an understanding of ecology and education that provides a holistic perspective which is vital for developing "compassion, optimal learning environments, nonviolent conflict resolution, just relationships, and ecological sustainability" (Slattery, 2006, p. 201). If environmental education is present in public schools, it is often limited to the scientific study of disintegrating natural systems. It usually excludes a true understanding of the cultural beliefs, values, and practices that may enrich or degrade these ecological systems. These cultural beliefs, values, and practices are what Bowers considers the commons. The commons has been defined as something that is created together; it is "a way of creativity that embraces values like sharing, community, and stewardship as opposed to privatization, enclosure, and exploitation" (Lichtenstein, 2009, para. 2). Students will fail to see the environment from a globally interdependent ecological perspective if educators do not embrace the commons. In addressing the cultural roots of the ecological crisis, educational reformers need to utilize classroom practices to promote ecological intelligence rather than individual intelligence (Bowers, 2011, p. 4). As members of an ecological system, we need to shift the curriculum paradigm that sees things as distinct entities rather than formative influences of their relationships. Through such learning experiences, students will be educated not in isolation, but rather as a part of their surroundings within the larger ecology of relationships (Bowers, p. 19). "A 'bit' of information is definable as a difference which makes a difference. Such a difference, as it travels and undergoes successive transformation in a circuit, is an elementary idea" (Bateson, 1972, quoted in Bowers, 2011, p. 18). These small differences make up the information networks of ecology, and curriculum must be reshaped to help students obtain a better understanding of what an ecological system really is. Unfortunately, educators and education policy makers sometimes lack the power and time to analyze different perspectives of a new curriculum that would see environmental education as an organism that is living among us.
1995 Analysis
According to Slattery (2006), curriculum development in the postmodern era is related to the environment and the crisis it faces because of the conformity the levees bring to the Mississippi river. This metaphor is used to show the way in which modern curriculum engineers build dams against updating curriculum that prevents students and teachers from flowing freely and interacting in ways that promote flooding, shifting courses, and the building of new deltas to expand the thinking processes of students. Slattery compares levee building and damming rivers to impede their natural courses of flooding, wiping out old lands and creating new ones, to the levee building and damming of school curricula to stifle creative thinking amongst today’s students. Adding to the problem are the physical environments of schools which, according to Nieto (2008), can also serve as levees and dams that stifle student creativity and expectations. Nieto (2008), for example, indicated that educational systems might take an approach of educating the students with a simplistic curriculum if they perceive the students to be deficient. This approach is reflected in the physical environments of schools that are often found to be deficient in poorer urban and rural areas. However, Nieto (2008) noted that if these same students were able to attend schools in more affluent areas their worlds may open up and they may find education enjoyable rather than monotonous and uninteresting. Finally, schools in disrepair and lacking up-to-date art materials can be reflective of the levied and dammed Mississippi River Slattery (2006) referred to versus schools found in affluent areas. These schools provide intellectually stimulating and academically challenging curriculum, much like the open and free flowing river that the Mississippi once was.
In overcoming the oppression of pseudo-levees and damns, teachers' and students' creativity and imagination will spill over at some point in time. For more control of individual minds, innovative corporate, political, and economic diversions and routes, such as new college enrollment requirements, will be created to enclose the majority and mop up the few who escape the capitalistic system. Additionally, similarly to how the Mississippi River is restricted from its natural biological and ecological rhythms due to the interest of economic endeavors, educational programs are dictated by the interest of stakeholders as well (Slattery, 2006). Just as the locks and canals have been built to redirect the flow of the Mississippi waters, states have used money to redirect the flow of learning in our students. High stakes testing strategies have acted like locks and canals in the ability of our students to think critically and outside of the box in order to problem solve. Unfortunately, it is money that controls what strategies are available to enhance the learning of our students which, as we have now seen, has not been advantageous.
1999 Analysis
Closed Nature/School Systems
Slattery (2006) suggests it is important to remember the interconnectedness among the elements in life. It is paramount to have that same interconnectedness within our environments of subject matter, human persons, and the natural environment. If this ecological view is not implemented in our school system, students will not take the appropriate ethical actions to maintain ecological sustainability. In order for students to understand their environment and in turn care for it, our students must feel a connectedness to their environment. A major goal of environmental education must be to teach students to care about and pay more attention to environmental conditions (Venkataraman, 2008). A good way to achieve this goal is to find a way to make the students feel as if they are a part of their environment. They must understand how their actions affect the world around them. Using the metaphor of the Mississippi River, modern man-constructed levee systems have not allowed the river to run free and perpetuate new animal and plant life. Forcefully, the Mississippi River has been conformed to follow commerce and productivity demands "rather than searching to create new places and support species of fish and wildlife" (Slattery, p. 205).
Slattery concludes his analysis by suggesting that often we place too much confidence in man-made systems that wish to regulate particular forces within nature. This is one side effect of the artificial division that Western culture has placed between self and the environment. Just like closed systems such as levees, we have closed systems within our schools that cause damage. What we think is enhancing our educational experience may actually be hurting it. Some closed systems within schools need to be reevaluated, while others need to be removed altogether. In the example of the Mississippi River, some controlled structures and levees made matters worse. Paralleled to education, our educational system needs to recognize which systems and programs should be strengthened and which are detrimental and should be removed (Slattery, 2006). Our focus should not be centered on one aspect, but our interests should be considered along with the interests of others (Slattery).
Northside Independent School District has created an integrated Science and Social Studies curriculum for third grade. In NISD’s third grade curriculum unit, students are taught “Governing the Wetlands.” Throughout the unit students will be able to understand how organisms interact and depend on each other in ecosystems, describe cycles, structures, and processes interacting within the wetlands. Students will also understand interactions within and among systems resulting in both positive and negative changes. Students will understand how people and organisms survive because of their characteristics or adaptations to their physical environment, as well as recognize how the government provides services for the common good. This type of thinking is an example of how curriculum can be changed to meet the true needs of students in our society today. Not only does the NISD curriculum teach students standard content, it also guides them to be more aware of the environment and the impact they themselves have on the environment and living beings within it.
Bowers (2006) states, “The diversity of the world’s cultural knowledge systems that influence whether the local commons will continue to exist on a sustainable basis is now being threatened by the youth who are turning away from the intergenerational knowledge of their communities” (p. 139). In relation to the work of Bowers, San Antonio’s NISD wetland unit became relatable to students due to the fact the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center is located within the community. NISD included the history of Mitchell Lake showing examples of community changes that result from individual and group decisions. Along with showing examples, students will be asked to identify examples of actions individuals and groups can take to improve the community. Students will be able to describe the effects of human processes such as building new homes, conservation, and pollution in shaping the landscape. Third graders are given explanations describing how parts of the wetlands are drained to build roads and buildings. With landforms, certain physical features encourage settlement, while others may discourage it. In helping protect wetlands, people build bridges in wetland areas to meet their need for transportation and to conserve and protect it. They will notice as people pollute the environment, construct houses, and create communities, the environment suffers both immediate and long term consequences. Using Mitchell Lake Audubon Center as an example, the students are then able to identify and explain how Audubon Texas is an example of a nonprofit organization that serves the common good by protecting and restoring the environment. This type of unit helps students to recognize the importance of environmental awareness, as well as helps them to understand the steps needed to take action in their lives to promote environmental awareness and intelligence.
2003 Analysis
Social Control in the education system
Cover of Percy's novel, The Thanatos Syndrome
In order to prepare students for the major changes occurring in the classroom, Slattery (2006) spoke of explaining his ecological vision in school curriculum. Slattery, for example, referred to Walker Percy’s The Thanatos Syndrome in which a group of school administrators discover a “chemical to deliver haunted souls from mental suffering" (Slattery, p. 208). The chemical increases the intellectual level of the students to one hundred percent; however, they exhibit no personality beyond their newly found intellect. Moreover the administrators discover another chemical that they add to the water that reduces sex drive (Slattery). What Slattery is referring to here is total mind control of students that exists in many of today’s classrooms. Administrators and parents alike no longer have to worry about unwed teenage pregnancy and teenage promiscuity; however, Slattery impresses upon the fact that one administrator strips the students of the very thing that makes them human. According to Slattery the administrators strip the students of their basic human emotions of “compassion, commitment, mystery, and spirituality,” (Slattery, p. 208), this can be paralleled to controlling the Mississippi river by retarding its ability to “meander, create, discover, and respond from a self-reflective perspective" (Slattery, p. 209).
Slattery (2006) refers to another section of Percy's story which needs to be addressed before incorporating the major changes necessary to build a better relationship between student and teacher; one administrator mentions how student communications are generally two word sentences, which in essence stifles their creativity or ability to think. The need to learn to read or write is “a lost art” in schools today, according to a mentor teacher. We as educators must find a way to engage the students to get away from the texting mentality of using expressions like “K, for ok, how r u?, lol, tym, lmao,” etc. Another example can be found in the movie Curly Sue (1991), where the main character, a six year old little girl, was obviously taught to spell “asphyxiate,” but could not spell cat. This is something that surely equates to the same texting experts who cannot spell “laugh out loud (lol) and thank you much (tym), because no one spent the time to impress upon these students that although acronyms are fine for messaging buddies, they serve no purpose when it comes to applying the ability to read or write in the real world. Finally, in order for teachers to find that real world connection with students, they must persist by not “delivering curriculum that is disconnected from environmental, cultural, and personal interests" (Slattery, p. 209).
In a postmodern education system the curriculum takes on both informative and transformative roles with ecological sustainability and holistic models of teaching at the center. These visions of curriculum weave together multiple dimensions that, as a collection, shape "a deeper crisis of the whole human being" (Slattery, 2006, p. 201). Slattery states that we have to establish a "theoretical framework for thinking about connectedness, rootedness, self-reflection, and critical literacy, then we will be ready to challenge our students to consider ecological activism" (p. 211).
2006 Analysis
Power Relations in the Classroom
The arrangement of the classroom teacher as distributor of knowledge prepares students for the linear social structures of the modern world. In order to challenge these wider power structures, changes among classroom relationships need to occur. Slattery (2006) believes teachers need to go beyond just learning their students' names and interests and reach for respect and encouragement of all students' opinions (p. 214). As educators, we call for greater awareness of the human context and the reflective powers of language inside and outside of schools. This shift will empower educators to move away from the authoritative teacher role. Some critical changes that need to be made for postmodern schooling are:
relationships within a classroom between teacher and students need to change,
teachers should serve as guides and mentors,
reflective dialogue and debate should be the focus of a classroom,
students need to be engaged in the learning experience, and
ecological literacy needs to be added to every subject.
One of the major changes that is taking place in postmodern curriculum relates to the types of relationships that teachers and students have in classrooms. By creating an environment in which students feel accepted, safe, and respected, teachers provide students with a sense of belonging that enables them to strive much harder and do the best they can to succeed. It can be assumed that students bring with them important views and opinions to be discussed in the classroom. When given the opportunity to learn in a holistic environment, the quality of their work will "improve exponentially" (Slattery, 2006, p. 216). With the existence of social control in the classrooms, those whose research includes an ecological and holistic concern especially see the danger of the deceptive social control that exists in education and society today (Slattery, p. 216). It is important that we change the structure of the environment of our schools and classrooms; we must stay away from a curriculum representing the industrial factory-line model and move toward a curriculum representing a holistic and community model. Through educational and curriculum reforms, fundamental issues, such as sufficient and quality food for all, coherent community, development of personal talents, and lessening consumer dependency on commercial products, may be addressed. Extending to cultural (environmental) commons, such as water in our oceans and rivers, to the air we breathe, these shared ecological systems must be components of curriculum. In the end, we strive for our students to one day be knowledgeable and have reliance among strong functioning social commons to diminish reliance on outside products (Bowers, 2004, 2011). If we are to take Albert Einstein's warning seriously, namely that we cannot rely upon the same mindset that created the problem to fix it, we need to begin thinking of how to exercise ecological intelligence and thus to move to a post-industrial form of consciousness (Bowers, 2010).
Community Importance
We must teach our students the importance of community. Community is more than students living in their space; it encompasses all of us working together to preserve our community and make it a better place. By using holistic and ecological models of environment and interconnectedness of experiences to teach ecological sustainability, students will see that what we do in our "spaces" affects our community as a whole. Even setting up a classroom to use seminar circles will allow students to develop an image for understanding the local and global interrelationship of postmodern thought. "The world, like the classroom, is a unity of related plurality rather than a series of adversarial fragments that compete with one another for domination or privilege" (Slattery, 2006, 219). The use of outdoor classes to encourage human interactions and environment interactions dissolve the artificial boundary between the outside community and the classroom (Slattery). It is important to allow students to bring their inner experiences to the classroom because each student comes from a different cultural perspective and has different thoughts and ideas on how to incorporate ecological sustainability into our everyday lives.
The following video can be used in the classroom to show students the importance of ecological sustainability and how it can affect their lives.
Language and power
An anthropocentric view of the environment offers a wide variety of resources that could be exploited for the benefit of mankind. Instead, these resources should be conserved by the intellectual community. Westernized countries use their powers, via the use of media propaganda, to restrict their people's thinking to a mono-lingual, mono-cultural, and mono-self-being. In contrast, other countries endorse the diversity of their people by honoring all cultures and languages within their societal framework. Bowers' (2004) elaborates on the loss of linguistic and cultural diversity as having a negative effect on sustaining ecological systems. All cultures, families, communities, and other groupings interconnect formulating relationships within ecologies. Language is the critical conduit among and between these systems. As language is the medium for learning, we need to be cautious in education. As teachers using metaphors in language, there is a chance that the cultural interpretation may marginalize those who do not understand. Structure of language serves the purpose of power and its misinterpretation for those who are or are not part of a community. Relationships between the mind and the external world of an ecological community are connected by the interpretive frameworks of culture and their influence on cognitive structure.
Technology’s Effect on Ecological Intelligence
Technologies can be viewed as both having positive and negative effects on people. One paradox of advancement of technology, such as computers and internet, provides open communication for students to learn about ecology through multiple lenses. Students will learn how technology has advanced medical care and connections of families from afar. In contrast, students learn how the demand for technological advancement has come at an ecological cost to third world countries and their workers. So, are social networks considered cultural or community commons through the lens of globalization, compressing time and space? Or is there a hidden capitalistic agenda? How would Bowers or Slattery view the technological advancement of social communication's effects on language? Computers both transfer and transform intergenerational knowledge into abstract text. This intergenerational knowledge, such as growing, cooking, and sharing of foods, alternative medicine, ceremonies, narratives of ethnic groups, creative arts (music, dance, writing, poetry) to craft knowledge, lacks vital context. In contrast, cultural commons would ensure that context and language is conserved (Bowers, 2004). In the words of Ron Miller, "our culture does not nourish that which is best or noblest in the human spirit. It does not cultivate vision, imagination, or aesthetic or spiritual sensitivity. It does not encourage gentleness, generosity, caring or compassion. Increasingly in the late 20th century, the economic-technocratic-statist worldview has become a monstrous destroyer of what is loving and life-affirming in the human soul" (Orr, 1991, Sane Means, Mad Ends section, para. 12).
Ecological Intelligence- Ecology of the Mind
Cultural commons need to maintain their transfer of traditions from generation to generation. Without passing on intergenerational knowledge, the young will continue to be drawn deeper into consumerism and dependency on the economy. This abstract ideology overpowers the students' view of ecological needs of people and earth and reinforces their individualism. The knowledge of human interactions with the environment promotes a place-based, intergenerational connection with a body of knowledge of how to live within the limits and possibilities of the local ecosystem (Bowers, 2011). This differs from patterns of thinking where the dominant class is the one that forms reality for the rest of society.
Modern visions of education are no longer acceptable in the postmodern era; these visions are characterized by the Tylerian Rationale, behavioral lesson plans, context-free objectives, accountability, and a separation between teacher, student, and environment (Slattery, 2006). Observing ecological sustainability and intelligence from a postmodern mind frame requires aiming a critical eye on how the environment is affected by cultural norms, social norms, capitalism, etc. As mentioned earlier, Slattery provides an example when he mentions how the Mississippi River's flow was altered in order to provide routes that function better for the economy. It is precisely this inability to provide connection and context to a given place and person in that place that inevitably leads to indifference about other people and destruction of the environment (Slattery).
Cover of Louv's novel, Last Child in the Woods
In his book, Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv (2005) discusses the importance of children developing connections with nature and their physical environment. Our busy lifestyles and technology often keep children from free interactions with nature. In addition, there are far fewer natural spaces which are accessible to children, and increases in crime have made parents wary of allowing children to explore nature on their own. Louv discusses how children are less apt to build deep, lasting connections with the environment, and therefore are less likely to feel a sense of stewardship for the land. "If children do not attach to the land, they will not reap the psychological and spiritual benefits they can glean from nature, nor will they feel a longterm commitment to the environment, to the place" (Louv, p. 159).
A postmodern curriculum must be meaningful, relevant, and relatable for students. The environment in which the students live should always be considered since their previous experience always plays a role in their classroom. The importance given to a student’s environment gives them a sense of acceptance and respect from others. Knowledge that is perceived to have importance in Western philosophically based schools was given this status to promote the spread of industrial culture for the betterment of society. This supports Bowers' (2004) essay in which he positions the consumer's addiction as individualism in today's society. The customary transformational learning models purport consumerism against the concept of conservationism of knowledge from generation to generation. This globalization forces the monoculture perspective by destructing non-Western type cultures at the loss of language, knowledge, and commons. The enclosure of the commons undermines local democracy because decisions about how the commons will be used are made by corporations or individuals who are not affected by the consequences of their decisions.
High Status Knowledge Promoted by Universities
Universities are often seen as more open, progressive, and multicultural than society at large. The archetypal college professor is, in many circles, seen as socialist, non-conformist, and a promoter of change. The reality, however, is that most universities are deeply entrenched in the industrial and imperial culture that privileges certain viewpoints, opinions, and ways of thinking over others. Those community traditions that do not support "progress", scientific "advancement" and the exploitation of nature are viewed with contempt by most institutions of higher education. Community traditions may be viewed as a source of backwardness when compared to today's capitalistic norms, and the form of individualism that views such community traditions as backward thinking in turn put more power and emphasis on technological solutions. These technological solutions may be represented as culturally neutral when, in fact, they are aggressively mono-cultural (Bowers, 2011). Science and scientific thinking do not bring with them an absence of culture, as its missionaries and priests would like to believe, but rather provide their own values and cultural framework. Bowers describes the viewpoints of scholars such as Stephen Hawking and Richard Dawkins as frighteningly reductionist. The idea that all of mankind can be boiled down to a "Theory of Everything" and solved with mathematical equations (as Hawking believes) is somewhat alarming. Dawkins' theories on memes and the viral nature of culture also eliminate too much complexity to be representative of the real world.
Ideas of John Dewey and Gregory Bateson
Gregory Bateson
Bowers (2011) discusses one important figure in the field of ecological intelligence and education: Gregory Bateson. Bateson was an anthropologist, psychotherapist, and cyberneticist, who believed that educational reforms should be based on counteracting misconceptions that lead to ecological destruction (Bowers). He believed that public schools and universities have the greatest potential to change thinking patterns and cultural beliefs about natural systems and ecology. Several parallels can be drawn between Gregory Bateson and John Dewey. One of the similarities seen between Dewey and Bateson is that they both believed in the continual revision of knowledge due to the fact that things are always changing. Dewey was an early environmental thinker whose ideas and thoughts are based on his experiences in his time. A criticism that can be made of Dewey is that he was not a reflective thinker. This is the same criticism that Bateson would make of scientists (Bowers). However, both Dewey and Bateson believed that with so many changes in the earth's ecosystems, educational reforms should focus on developing a better understanding of ecological intelligence to continue contributing to an ecologically sustainable future. In order to do this, it is time for Dewey's followers to begin focusing on reforms that will foster lifestyles and patterns of thinking that are less harmful to our environment. (Bowers).
In order to make this transition, Bateson presents a suggestion on how our society needs to move from what he calls Learning I and Learning II, to a higher level of intelligence which he refers to as Learning III*
Social Justice
To understand social justice requires a leap of imagination. We must put aside our preconceived notion of what the world is, our ethnocentrism if you will, and look at the world in broader terms. Every society/cultural group in the world has its own value system and ways of doing things. We as citizens of the world must accept that every cultural group is going to have differences, but we also have similarities. We must look to those similarities so we can start to think about the ecological state of the earth and what it truly means to be global citizens. We do not need to be the hungry resource consumers that we are, but then say we want to save the Amazon rainforest because it might benefit us at a later time. We cannot be mad at the Brazilians for cutting down forests for farming, if that is how they make the money to survive. "Addressing social justice also requires addressing the cultural assumptions that underlie the myth of individual intelligence" (Bowers, 2011). Addressing social justice is also a matter of education.
The following video can be shown to students to help remind them of the importance of being educated as it relates to social justice.
Bowers challenged his readers to rethink reform through an ecological perspective such that the educational focus would be centered on the environment and its relationships with diverse cultures (2004). Bowers appears to push for both formal and informal learning beginning with early grades through advanced studies at universities. The critical concepts for all to understand and apply would be self-sufficiency through local decision-making as the basis for revitalizing the natural and cultural commons.
An educational reform would focus on the difference between an ecologically centered and an individually centered view of intelligence. As questioned by Bowers, "Does what the student learns make it more difficult to exercise ecological intelligence in deciding social policies, in assessing the impacts of new technologies, in recognizing when other cultures have taken a more ecologically sustainable approach to development?" (2011, p.130). Orr (2004) suggests that, in order to promote ecological intelligence and avert an environmental crisis, education must begin to engage the wider society rather than functioning as an island. Educators must also begin to provide environments that are ecologically sustainable; when unavailable, students can be challenged to use their critical thinking skills, imaginations, and ecological literacy to find solutions to creating a more sustainable learning environment. Orr goes on to discuss the Lewis Center, an environmental project at Oberlin College in Ohio, which had a mission to conserve energy, recycle waste, and promote sustainability. The students involved have worked to implement an environmental policy for the college, and created a large community farm. This project illustrates how students can help improve ecological conditions and increase sustainability when encouraged to use practical and critical thinking skills, analytic abilities, moral values, and ecological literacy.
Teachers are the mediators between the two worlds (ecologically sound and not). The task of teachers is to focus on inspiring students to think about the diverse relationships and the mutual support for natural and cultural commons. As consumers, students will ponder, explore, and share, as well as ask what ecological footprints they will leave behind. Educators should be introducing ecologically sustainable thinking across the academic disciplines because ecological sustainability can be taught in every core subject area. By teaching sound ecological practices in every subject we are emphasizing the importance of providing connection and context to a given place and person. We should present the students with an ecological problem that the world is facing and ask students to use their critical thinking skills to use creativity, discovery, and responses from self-directed perspectives to come up with solutions.
The following video shows a way that teachers can use multiple disciplines and have students use their creativity and critical thinking skills to think about ecological issues.
Ecological intelligence is undermined and reinforced in several ways. We as people of this world need to know the difference between being independent entities and recognizing that life-sustaining processes involve relationships ("the difference which makes a difference"). We must all work together to make ecologically sound decisions about our planet. Students should not seek to be more autonomous. It is through working together that we will bring about the greatest changes. We must look to science and technology to help solve the environmental problems that science and technology helped to create. We must be critical thinkers to really make ecological intelligence work.
References
Bowers, C. (2011). Perspectives on the ideas of Gregory Bateson, ecological intelligence, and educational reforms. Eugene, OR: Ecojustice Press.
Bowers, C. A.(2004) The Relevance of Eco Justice and the Revitalization of the Commons Issues to Thinking About Greening the University Curriculum. Retrieved on July 1,
De Fanciscis, Maurizio (2010). How Education Enables Social Justice in a Knowledge Economy. Retrieved on October 28, 2010 fromhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFoXVgjhW9g
Diamond, J. (2005). Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed. New York: Penguin Books.
Goleman, D., Barlow, Z., & Bennett, L. (2010). Forging New Norms in New Orleans: From Emotional to Ecological Intelligence. Teacher Education Quarterly, 37(4), 87-98. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Louv, R. (2005). Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin.
Nieto, S. Bode, P. (2008). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education, 5th Ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. (p. 139).
As we enter the new millennium, one of the most challenging questions, if not the most challenging question to address, is how to assess, build, and maintain a sustainable economy and culture that will allow human society to enjoy a sufficiently high standard of living without destroying its natural and biological support. The fundamental question is: What is sustainability and how sustainable is an economic system? Sustainability is difficult to define or measure because it is an inherently vague and complex concept (Phillis, 2001).
Ecological sustainability, and the ecological intelligence required to enact it, is important in maintaining a long-term balance with the world. Ecological sustainability and ecological intelligence can be defined as "an all encompassing sensibility to see the interconnections between our actions and their hidden impacts on the planet, human health, and social systems (Goleman, 2010, pg.91)." It provides the sustainability movement and the aptitude to understand the connections and consequences between environmental, economic, and societal actions. Ecological sustainability means that
Cover of Diamond's novel, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
any activity that is taking place must be able to continue virtually forever. This can only happen if the activity does not 'use up' or otherwise destroy any of the life forms or resources which exist where the activity takes place, or--more particularly--upon which the activity relies. For example, the lumber industry is sustainable when trees are selectively cut down, thus allowing the habitats of thousands of species to remain intact, and for the forest to continue growing. Clear-cutting is not sustainable as it destroys the habitat for all the species in the forest and removes all the trees (Orr, 1991). While there are many individuals who have ecological intelligence and are reducing their ecological footprints with each soda can recycled or mile not driven, there are just as many Americans who are not ecologically minded. A lack of concern for the environment has often been the cause of collapse in past societies such as Easter Island, Pitairn and Henderson Islands, and the Anasazi in New Mexico. In his book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Jared Diamond (2005) points out multiple examples of societies that are no longer in existence due to the abuse and destruction of natural resources. Although some societies have collapsed due to a lack of concern, there were also "people living in fragile and difficult environments, adopting solutions that were brilliantly successful and understandable 'in the short run,' but that failed or else created fatal problems in the long run," (Diamond, p. 155). Our developing ecological intelligence must surpass the short-sighted goals of failed past societies, and move toward long term goals that will sustain the planet long after we are gone.
Watch Daniel Goleman discuss ecological intelligence and sustainability. According to Goleman, "green" living is a mirage. Although products touted for being environmentally friendly may be improved over standard products, there are still many hidden costs and impacts of each and every product. From the extraction of natural resources, to the manufacture, transport, use, and disposal of products, each step of production has an environmental and waste impact. In order to reduce the impact each individual has on the land, life cycle assessment can be used. Goleman presents life cycle assessment as an improved version of the carbon footprint. Life cycle assessment moves beyond the final environmental impact of consumer goods, and instead focuses on the impact of each and every step of production of goods. Items are rated based on their overall environmental impact, and these ratings are available to the public online. If individuals begin to change their buying habits to align with better environmentally rated items, as well as share information about the better products they are purchasing, a large scale shift can begin to take place.
America is a highly individualistic country, and while there have been vast improvements in terms of responsible use and protection of natural resources, we require a shift in the way we think and act to reach an ecologically sustainable path. As Slattery states, "the stakes are so high and the evidence of impending disaster so clear that alliances are being formed across political and religious divides" (2006, p. 200). Even today, in the face of overwhelming evidence of the impact of humanity on our environment, regulation and protection for sustainability is seen by some as an enemy of "progress".
Due to the fact that "the institutions that give special legitimacy to these patterns of thinking are the public schools and universities," we, as educators, find ourselves in positions to shape not only the immediate future of our students, but the future of students for years to come (Bowers, 2011, p. 13). As educators we are provided an opportunity, through our curriculum, to provide a path that can direct students towards ecological intelligence. Educators can provide their students the aptitudes to help understand "the dangers of environmental pollution, global climate change, unrestrained population growth, destruction of rainforests and wetlands, and the depletion of the protective ozone layer" (Slattery, 2007, p. 199). Providing our students an introduction "into holistic practices" we can "contribute to the postmodern global consciousness essential for ecological sustainability" (Slattery, p.199). As a reminder from the song "Mirror" by Michael Jackson, we, as educators, members of our society, and intergenerational knowledgeable others, must first begin with ourselves by modeling an ecological intelligence in more than just our classrooms. Slattery's commentary about ecology points out that teachers may be the answer to earth's ecological problems since they are the ones that encounter this country's future daily. This process starts as a hierarchical action, as power transfers to the common people.
Because educators work collaboratively with diverse groups within our society, they must develop an understanding of ecology and education that provides a holistic perspective which is vital for developing "compassion, optimal learning environments, nonviolent conflict resolution, just relationships, and ecological sustainability" (Slattery, 2006, p. 201). If environmental education is present in public schools, it is often limited to the scientific study of disintegrating natural systems. It usually excludes a true understanding of the cultural beliefs, values, and practices that may enrich or degrade these ecological systems. These cultural beliefs, values, and practices are what Bowers considers the commons. The commons has been defined as something that is created together; it is "a way of creativity that embraces values like sharing, community, and stewardship as opposed to privatization, enclosure, and exploitation" (Lichtenstein, 2009, para. 2). Students will fail to see the environment from a globally interdependent ecological perspective if educators do not embrace the commons. In addressing the cultural roots of the ecological crisis, educational reformers need to utilize classroom practices to promote ecological intelligence rather than individual intelligence (Bowers, 2011, p. 4). As members of an ecological system, we need to shift the curriculum paradigm that sees things as distinct entities rather than formative influences of their relationships. Through such learning experiences, students will be educated not in isolation, but rather as a part of their surroundings within the larger ecology of relationships (Bowers, p. 19). "A 'bit' of information is definable as a difference which makes a difference. Such a difference, as it travels and undergoes successive transformation in a circuit, is an elementary idea" (Bateson, 1972, quoted in Bowers, 2011, p. 18). These small differences make up the information networks of ecology, and curriculum must be reshaped to help students obtain a better understanding of what an ecological system really is. Unfortunately, educators and education policy makers sometimes lack the power and time to analyze different perspectives of a new curriculum that would see environmental education as an organism that is living among us.
1995 Analysis
According to Slattery (2006), curriculum development in the postmodern era is related to the environment and the crisis it faces because of the conformity the levees bring to the Mississippi river. This metaphor is used to show the way in which modern curriculum engineers build dams against updating curriculum that prevents students and teachers from flowing freely and interacting in ways that promote flooding, shifting courses, and the building of new deltas to expand the thinking processes of students. Slattery compares levee building and damming rivers to impede their natural courses of flooding, wiping out old lands and creating new ones, to the levee building and damming of school curricula to stifle creative thinking amongst today’s students. Adding to the problem are the physical environments of schools which, according to Nieto (2008), can also serve as levees and dams that stifle student creativity and expectations. Nieto (2008), for example, indicated that educational systems might take an approach of educating the students with a simplistic curriculum if they perceive the students to be deficient. This approach is reflected in the physical environments of schools that are often found to be deficient in poorer urban and rural areas. However, Nieto (2008) noted that if these same students were able to attend schools in more affluent areas their worlds may open up and they may find education enjoyable rather than monotonous and uninteresting. Finally, schools in disrepair and lacking up-to-date art materials can be reflective of the levied and dammed Mississippi River Slattery (2006) referred to versus schools found in affluent areas. These schools provide intellectually stimulating and academically challenging curriculum, much like the open and free flowing river that the Mississippi once was.
In overcoming the oppression of pseudo-levees and damns, teachers' and students' creativity and imagination will spill over at some point in time. For more control of individual minds, innovative corporate, political, and economic diversions and routes, such as new college enrollment requirements, will be created to enclose the majority and mop up the few who escape the capitalistic system. Additionally, similarly to how the Mississippi River is restricted from its natural biological and ecological rhythms due to the interest of economic endeavors, educational programs are dictated by the interest of stakeholders as well (Slattery, 2006). Just as the locks and canals have been built to redirect the flow of the Mississippi waters, states have used money to redirect the flow of learning in our students. High stakes testing strategies have acted like locks and canals in the ability of our students to think critically and outside of the box in order to problem solve. Unfortunately, it is money that controls what strategies are available to enhance the learning of our students which, as we have now seen, has not been advantageous.
1999 Analysis
Closed Nature/School Systems
Slattery (2006) suggests it is important to remember the interconnectedness among the elements in life. It is paramount to have that same interconnectedness within our environments of subject matter, human persons, and the natural environment. If this ecological view is not implemented in our school system, students will not take the appropriate ethical actions to maintain ecological sustainability. In order for students to understand their environment and in turn care for it, our students must feel a connectedness to their environment. A major goal of environmental education must be to teach students to care about and pay more attention to environmental conditions (Venkataraman, 2008). A good way to achieve this goal is to find a way to make the students feel as if they are a part of their environment. They must understand how their actions affect the world around them. Using the metaphor of the Mississippi River, modern man-constructed levee systems have not allowed the river to run free and perpetuate new animal and plant life. Forcefully, the Mississippi River has been conformed to follow commerce and productivity demands "rather than searching to create new places and support species of fish and wildlife" (Slattery, p. 205).
Slattery concludes his analysis by suggesting that often we place too much confidence in man-made systems that wish to regulate particular forces within nature. This is one side effect of the artificial division that Western culture has placed between self and the environment. Just like closed systems such as levees, we have closed systems within our schools that cause damage. What we think is enhancing our educational experience may actually be hurting it. Some closed systems within schools need to be reevaluated, while others need to be removed altogether. In the example of the Mississippi River, some controlled structures and levees made matters worse. Paralleled to education, our educational system needs to recognize which systems and programs should be strengthened and which are detrimental and should be removed (Slattery, 2006). Our focus should not be centered on one aspect, but our interests should be considered along with the interests of others (Slattery).
Northside Independent School District has created an integrated Science and Social Studies curriculum for third grade. In NISD’s third grade curriculum unit, students are taught “Governing the Wetlands.” Throughout the unit students will be able to understand how organisms interact and depend on each other in ecosystems, describe cycles, structures, and processes interacting within the wetlands. Students will also understand interactions within and among systems resulting in both positive and negative changes. Students will understand how people and organisms survive because of their characteristics or adaptations to their physical environment, as well as recognize how the government provides services for the common good. This type of thinking is an example of how curriculum can be changed to meet the true needs of students in our society today. Not only does the NISD curriculum teach students standard content, it also guides them to be more aware of the environment and the impact they themselves have on the environment and living beings within it.
Bowers (2006) states, “The diversity of the world’s cultural knowledge systems that influence whether the local commons will continue to exist on a sustainable basis is now being threatened by the youth who are turning away from the intergenerational knowledge of their communities” (p. 139). In relation to the work of Bowers, San Antonio’s NISD wetland unit became relatable to students due to the fact the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center is located within the community. NISD included the history of Mitchell Lake showing examples of community changes that result from individual and group decisions. Along with showing examples, students will be asked to identify examples of actions individuals and groups can take to improve the community. Students will be able to describe the effects of human processes such as building new homes, conservation, and pollution in shaping the landscape. Third graders are given explanations describing how parts of the wetlands are drained to build roads and buildings. With landforms, certain physical features encourage settlement, while others may discourage it. In helping protect wetlands, people build bridges in wetland areas to meet their need for transportation and to conserve and protect it. They will notice as people pollute the environment, construct houses, and create communities, the environment suffers both immediate and long term consequences. Using Mitchell Lake Audubon Center as an example, the students are then able to identify and explain how Audubon Texas is an example of a nonprofit organization that serves the common good by protecting and restoring the environment. This type of unit helps students to recognize the importance of environmental awareness, as well as helps them to understand the steps needed to take action in their lives to promote environmental awareness and intelligence.
2003 Analysis
Social Control in the education system
In order to prepare students for the major changes occurring in the classroom, Slattery (2006) spoke of explaining his ecological vision in school curriculum. Slattery, for example, referred to Walker Percy’s The Thanatos Syndrome in which a group of school administrators discover a “chemical to deliver haunted souls from mental suffering" (Slattery, p. 208). The chemical increases the intellectual level of the students to one hundred percent; however, they exhibit no personality beyond their newly found intellect. Moreover the administrators discover another chemical that they add to the water that reduces sex drive (Slattery). What Slattery is referring to here is total mind control of students that exists in many of today’s classrooms. Administrators and parents alike no longer have to worry about unwed teenage pregnancy and teenage promiscuity; however, Slattery impresses upon the fact that one administrator strips the students of the very thing that makes them human. According to Slattery the administrators strip the students of their basic human emotions of “compassion, commitment, mystery, and spirituality,” (Slattery, p. 208), this can be paralleled to controlling the Mississippi river by retarding its ability to “meander, create, discover, and respond from a self-reflective perspective" (Slattery, p. 209).
Slattery (2006) refers to another section of Percy's story which needs to be addressed before incorporating the major changes necessary to build a better relationship between student and teacher; one administrator mentions how student communications are generally two word sentences, which in essence stifles their creativity or ability to think. The need to learn to read or write is “a lost art” in schools today, according to a mentor teacher. We as educators must find a way to engage the students to get away from the texting mentality of using expressions like “K, for ok, how r u?, lol, tym, lmao,” etc. Another example can be found in the movie Curly Sue (1991), where the main character, a six year old little girl, was obviously taught to spell “asphyxiate,” but could not spell cat. This is something that surely equates to the same texting experts who cannot spell “laugh out loud (lol) and thank you much (tym), because no one spent the time to impress upon these students that although acronyms are fine for messaging buddies, they serve no purpose when it comes to applying the ability to read or write in the real world. Finally, in order for teachers to find that real world connection with students, they must persist by not “delivering curriculum that is disconnected from environmental, cultural, and personal interests" (Slattery, p. 209).
In a postmodern education system the curriculum takes on both informative and transformative roles with ecological sustainability and holistic models of teaching at the center. These visions of curriculum weave together multiple dimensions that, as a collection, shape "a deeper crisis of the whole human being" (Slattery, 2006, p. 201). Slattery states that we have to establish a "theoretical framework for thinking about connectedness, rootedness, self-reflection, and critical literacy, then we will be ready to challenge our students to consider ecological activism" (p. 211).
2006 Analysis
Power Relations in the Classroom
The arrangement of the classroom teacher as distributor of knowledge prepares students for the linear social structures of the modern world. In order to challenge these wider power structures, changes among classroom relationships need to occur. Slattery (2006) believes teachers need to go beyond just learning their students' names and interests and reach for respect and encouragement of all students' opinions (p. 214). As educators, we call for greater awareness of the human context and the reflective powers of language inside and outside of schools. This shift will empower educators to move away from the authoritative teacher role. Some critical changes that need to be made for postmodern schooling are:
relationships within a classroom between teacher and students need to change,
teachers should serve as guides and mentors,
reflective dialogue and debate should be the focus of a classroom,
students need to be engaged in the learning experience, and
ecological literacy needs to be added to every subject.
One of the major changes that is taking place in postmodern curriculum relates to the types of relationships that teachers and students have in classrooms. By creating an environment in which students feel accepted, safe, and respected, teachers provide students with a sense of belonging that enables them to strive much harder and do the best they can to succeed. It can be assumed that students bring with them important views and opinions to be discussed in the classroom. When given the opportunity to learn in a holistic environment, the quality of their work will "improve exponentially" (Slattery, 2006, p. 216). With the existence of social control in the classrooms, those whose research includes an ecological and holistic concern especially see the danger of the deceptive social control that exists in education and society today (Slattery, p. 216). It is important that we change the structure of the environment of our schools and classrooms; we must stay away from a curriculum representing the industrial factory-line model and move toward a curriculum representing a holistic and community model. Through educational and curriculum reforms, fundamental issues, such as sufficient and quality food for all, coherent community, development of personal talents, and lessening consumer dependency on commercial products, may be addressed. Extending to cultural (environmental) commons, such as water in our oceans and rivers, to the air we breathe, these shared ecological systems must be components of curriculum. In the end, we strive for our students to one day be knowledgeable and have reliance among strong functioning social commons to diminish reliance on outside products (Bowers, 2004, 2011). If we are to take Albert Einstein's warning seriously, namely that we cannot rely upon the same mindset that created the problem to fix it, we need to begin thinking of how to exercise ecological intelligence and thus to move to a post-industrial form of consciousness (Bowers, 2010).
Community Importance
We must teach our students the importance of community. Community is more than students living in their space; it encompasses all of us working together to preserve our community and make it a better place. By using holistic and ecological models of environment and interconnectedness of experiences to teach ecological sustainability, students will see that what we do in our "spaces" affects our community as a whole. Even setting up a classroom to use seminar circles will allow students to develop an image for understanding the local and global interrelationship of postmodern thought. "The world, like the classroom, is a unity of related plurality rather than a series of adversarial fragments that compete with one another for domination or privilege" (Slattery, 2006, 219). The use of outdoor classes to encourage human interactions and environment interactions dissolve the artificial boundary between the outside community and the classroom (Slattery). It is important to allow students to bring their inner experiences to the classroom because each student comes from a different cultural perspective and has different thoughts and ideas on how to incorporate ecological sustainability into our everyday lives.
The following video can be used in the classroom to show students the importance of ecological sustainability and how it can affect their lives.
Language and power
An anthropocentric view of the environment offers a wide variety of resources that could be exploited for the benefit of mankind. Instead, these resources should be conserved by the intellectual community. Westernized countries use their powers, via the use of media propaganda, to restrict their people's thinking to a mono-lingual, mono-cultural, and mono-self-being. In contrast, other countries endorse the diversity of their people by honoring all cultures and languages within their societal framework. Bowers' (2004) elaborates on the loss of linguistic and cultural diversity as having a negative effect on sustaining ecological systems. All cultures, families, communities, and other groupings interconnect formulating relationships within ecologies. Language is the critical conduit among and between these systems. As language is the medium for learning, we need to be cautious in education. As teachers using metaphors in language, there is a chance that the cultural interpretation may marginalize those who do not understand. Structure of language serves the purpose of power and its misinterpretation for those who are or are not part of a community. Relationships between the mind and the external world of an ecological community are connected by the interpretive frameworks of culture and their influence on cognitive structure.
Technology’s Effect on Ecological Intelligence
Technologies can be viewed as both having positive and negative effects on people. One paradox of advancement of technology, such as computers and internet, provides open communication for students to learn about ecology through multiple lenses. Students will learn how technology has advanced medical care and connections of families from afar. In contrast, students learn how the demand for technological advancement has come at an ecological cost to third world countries and their workers. So, are social networks considered cultural or community commons through the lens of globalization, compressing time and space? Or is there a hidden capitalistic agenda? How would Bowers or Slattery view the technological advancement of social communication's effects on language? Computers both transfer and transform intergenerational knowledge into abstract text. This intergenerational knowledge, such as growing, cooking, and sharing of foods, alternative medicine, ceremonies, narratives of ethnic groups, creative arts (music, dance, writing, poetry) to craft knowledge, lacks vital context. In contrast, cultural commons would ensure that context and language is conserved (Bowers, 2004). In the words of Ron Miller, "our culture does not nourish that which is best or noblest in the human spirit. It does not cultivate vision, imagination, or aesthetic or spiritual sensitivity. It does not encourage gentleness, generosity, caring or compassion. Increasingly in the late 20th century, the economic-technocratic-statist worldview has become a monstrous destroyer of what is loving and life-affirming in the human soul" (Orr, 1991, Sane Means, Mad Ends section, para. 12).
Ecological Intelligence- Ecology of the Mind
Cultural commons need to maintain their transfer of traditions from generation to generation. Without passing on intergenerational knowledge, the young will continue to be drawn deeper into consumerism and dependency on the economy. This abstract ideology overpowers the students' view of ecological needs of people and earth and reinforces their individualism. The knowledge of human interactions with the environment promotes a place-based, intergenerational connection with a body of knowledge of how to live within the limits and possibilities of the local ecosystem (Bowers, 2011). This differs from patterns of thinking where the dominant class is the one that forms reality for the rest of society.
Modern visions of education are no longer acceptable in the postmodern era; these visions are characterized by the Tylerian Rationale, behavioral lesson plans, context-free objectives, accountability, and a separation between teacher, student, and environment (Slattery, 2006). Observing ecological sustainability and intelligence from a postmodern mind frame requires aiming a critical eye on how the environment is affected by cultural norms, social norms, capitalism, etc. As mentioned earlier, Slattery provides an example when he mentions how the Mississippi River's flow was altered in order to provide routes that function better for the economy. It is precisely this inability to provide connection and context to a given place and person in that place that inevitably leads to indifference about other people and destruction of the environment (Slattery).
A postmodern curriculum must be meaningful, relevant, and relatable for students. The environment in which the students live should always be considered since their previous experience always plays a role in their classroom. The importance given to a student’s environment gives them a sense of acceptance and respect from others. Knowledge that is perceived to have importance in Western philosophically based schools was given this status to promote the spread of industrial culture for the betterment of society. This supports Bowers' (2004) essay in which he positions the consumer's addiction as individualism in today's society. The customary transformational learning models purport consumerism against the concept of conservationism of knowledge from generation to generation. This globalization forces the monoculture perspective by destructing non-Western type cultures at the loss of language, knowledge, and commons. The enclosure of the commons undermines local democracy because decisions about how the commons will be used are made by corporations or individuals who are not affected by the consequences of their decisions.
High Status Knowledge Promoted by Universities
Universities are often seen as more open, progressive, and multicultural than society at large. The archetypal college professor is, in many circles, seen as socialist, non-conformist, and a promoter of change. The reality, however, is that most universities are deeply entrenched in the industrial and imperial culture that privileges certain viewpoints, opinions, and ways of thinking over others. Those community traditions that do not support "progress", scientific "advancement" and the exploitation of nature are viewed with contempt by most institutions of higher education. Community traditions may be viewed as a source of backwardness when compared to today's capitalistic norms, and the form of individualism that views such community traditions as backward thinking in turn put more power and emphasis on technological solutions. These technological solutions may be represented as culturally neutral when, in fact, they are aggressively mono-cultural (Bowers, 2011). Science and scientific thinking do not bring with them an absence of culture, as its missionaries and priests would like to believe, but rather provide their own values and cultural framework. Bowers describes the viewpoints of scholars such as Stephen Hawking and Richard Dawkins as frighteningly reductionist. The idea that all of mankind can be boiled down to a "Theory of Everything" and solved with mathematical equations (as Hawking believes) is somewhat alarming. Dawkins' theories on memes and the viral nature of culture also eliminate too much complexity to be representative of the real world.
Ideas of John Dewey and Gregory Bateson
Bowers (2011) discusses one important figure in the field of ecological intelligence and education: Gregory Bateson. Bateson was an anthropologist, psychotherapist, and cyberneticist, who believed that educational reforms should be based on counteracting misconceptions that lead to ecological destruction (Bowers). He believed that public schools and universities have the greatest potential to change thinking patterns and cultural beliefs about natural systems and ecology. Several parallels can be drawn between Gregory Bateson and John Dewey. One of the similarities seen between Dewey and Bateson is that they both believed in the continual revision of knowledge due to the fact that things are always changing. Dewey was an early environmental thinker whose ideas and thoughts are based on his experiences in his time. A criticism that can be made of Dewey is that he was not a reflective thinker. This is the same criticism that Bateson would make of scientists (Bowers). However, both Dewey and Bateson believed that with so many changes in the earth's ecosystems, educational reforms should focus on developing a better understanding of ecological intelligence to continue contributing to an ecologically sustainable future. In order to do this, it is time for Dewey's followers to begin focusing on reforms that will foster lifestyles and patterns of thinking that are less harmful to our environment. (Bowers).
In order to make this transition, Bateson presents a suggestion on how our society needs to move from what he calls Learning I and Learning II, to a higher level of intelligence which he refers to as Learning III*
Social Justice
To understand social justice requires a leap of imagination. We must put aside our preconceived notion of what the world is, our ethnocentrism if you will, and look at the world in broader terms. Every society/cultural group in the world has its own value system and ways of doing things. We as citizens of the world must accept that every cultural group is going to have differences, but we also have similarities. We must look to those similarities so we can start to think about the ecological state of the earth and what it truly means to be global citizens. We do not need to be the hungry resource consumers that we are, but then say we want to save the Amazon rainforest because it might benefit us at a later time. We cannot be mad at the Brazilians for cutting down forests for farming, if that is how they make the money to survive. "Addressing social justice also requires addressing the cultural assumptions that underlie the myth of individual intelligence" (Bowers, 2011). Addressing social justice is also a matter of education.
The following video can be shown to students to help remind them of the importance of being educated as it relates to social justice.
How Education Enables Social Justice
Educational Reforms
Bowers challenged his readers to rethink reform through an ecological perspective such that the educational focus would be centered on the environment and its relationships with diverse cultures (2004). Bowers appears to push for both formal and informal learning beginning with early grades through advanced studies at universities. The critical concepts for all to understand and apply would be self-sufficiency through local decision-making as the basis for revitalizing the natural and cultural commons.
An educational reform would focus on the difference between an ecologically centered and an individually centered view of intelligence. As questioned by Bowers, "Does what the student learns make it more difficult to exercise ecological intelligence in deciding social policies, in assessing the impacts of new technologies, in recognizing when other cultures have taken a more ecologically sustainable approach to development?" (2011, p.130). Orr (2004) suggests that, in order to promote ecological intelligence and avert an environmental crisis, education must begin to engage the wider society rather than functioning as an island. Educators must also begin to provide environments that are ecologically sustainable; when unavailable, students can be challenged to use their critical thinking skills, imaginations, and ecological literacy to find solutions to creating a more sustainable learning environment. Orr goes on to discuss the Lewis Center, an environmental project at Oberlin College in Ohio, which had a mission to conserve energy, recycle waste, and promote sustainability. The students involved have worked to implement an environmental policy for the college, and created a large community farm. This project illustrates how students can help improve ecological conditions and increase sustainability when encouraged to use practical and critical thinking skills, analytic abilities, moral values, and ecological literacy.
Teachers are the mediators between the two worlds (ecologically sound and not). The task of teachers is to focus on inspiring students to think about the diverse relationships and the mutual support for natural and cultural commons. As consumers, students will ponder, explore, and share, as well as ask what ecological footprints they will leave behind. Educators should be introducing ecologically sustainable thinking across the academic disciplines because ecological sustainability can be taught in every core subject area. By teaching sound ecological practices in every subject we are emphasizing the importance of providing connection and context to a given place and person. We should present the students with an ecological problem that the world is facing and ask students to use their critical thinking skills to use creativity, discovery, and responses from self-directed perspectives to come up with solutions.
The following video shows a way that teachers can use multiple disciplines and have students use their creativity and critical thinking skills to think about ecological issues.
Save Something for Our Children
Ecological intelligence is undermined and reinforced in several ways. We as people of this world need to know the difference between being independent entities and recognizing that life-sustaining processes involve relationships ("the difference which makes a difference"). We must all work together to make ecologically sound decisions about our planet. Students should not seek to be more autonomous. It is through working together that we will bring about the greatest changes. We must look to science and technology to help solve the environmental problems that science and technology helped to create. We must be critical thinkers to really make ecological intelligence work.
References
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